On the 4 and 5 October 2023 this year’s Federal Congress on Gaming and Gambling in Germany will be taking Place in Berlin at Maritim Hotel proArte, and we would like to cordially invite you to attend. 2023 is an exciting year for gaming gambling in Germany and Europe – we would like perform some initial stock taking of the political situation and discuss many fascinating questions together with you, while of course, not losing sight of the issue of player protection: The Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) is solely responsible for the regulation of online gambling – from licensing to combating the black market. What is going well, and where are probles apparently still lurking? What is happening in the area of terrestrial gaming? What about virtual services offered by the state lottery companies? When will the first online casinos go live under the Interstate Treaty on Gambling and who will be leading the way – NRW, Hesse or some other Länder? What is the situation with regard to other topics like Lootboxes or influencer-marketing, and who has the say here –Germany or the EU? Two assessments (one on the Gaming Ordinance and one on the Interstate Treaty) are upcoming – what answers can providers and the regulatory authorities furnish?
We are looking forward to welcoming you to the evening reception on 4 October 2023, which many interesting discussion partners will be attending. On 5 October 2023 we will then get started with the congress programme featuring the different topical fields listed below.
Wednesday, 4 October 2023: evening reception
17:30 Admission and registration
18:00 Welcoming address
Uwe Proll, Editor in Chief and publisher, Behörden Spiegel
18:15 Keynote
Georg Stecker, Spokesman of the Executive Board, Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft
Thursday, 5 October 2023: Congress
Opening block, 9:00-10:30
Since 1 January 2023, regulation of online gaming has undergone fundamental changes. Terrestrial gaming/gambling is still on offer. Where do we stand and where is there a need for modification?
Featuring:
– Welcoming addresses
– Representative of the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (requested)
– Mathias Dahms, President, Deutscher Sportwettenverband
– Simon Priglinger-Simader, Vice President, Deutscher Online Casino Verband
– Georg Stecker, Spokesman of the Executive Board, Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft
– Dr. Norman Albers, Deutscher Buchmacher Verband (requested)
– Georg Wacker, Managing Director, Lotto Baden-Württemberg (digital)
Break for coffee and communication
Combatting unlawful gaming, 11:00-12:15
Whether it be unlicensed gambling on the internet or illegal slot machines in bars and pubs – in spite of all efforts to date, there do not seem to be any prospects of eliminating the black market. How big the black market really is and how to strengthen the legal market to counter it remains an exciting question lying in the field of tension between “the attractiveness of legal offers” and “player protection”.
Featuring:
– Manfred Stoffers, Member of the Board, Gauselmann AG
– Daniel Fritz, Senior Economist, Düsseldorf Competition Economics
– Jörg Zehender, Lawyer, Business Law Firm Rybak.Zehender.
– Representative of the Hessian Bureau of Criminal Investigation (requested)
– Representative of the NRW Ministry of the Interior (requested)
– Representative from the field of addiction and prevention research (requested)
– Claus Retschitzegger, President of the Österreichischen Vereinigung für Wetten und Glücksspiel
– Dr Benedikt M. Quarch M.A., Co-Founder and Managing Director of the RightNow Group
Lunch
Lootboxes and Responsible Gaming, 13:15-14:30
Lootboxes, which have become omnipresent in the gaming sector, and the debate surrounding their regulation have become more salient this year. At the same time, the gaming market is one of the most innovative industries in Europe. So how does one strike a balance between protecting young people from the dangers of addiction and promoting the industry? We will be discussing which problems need to be addressed at the European and German levels as well as potential solutions.
Featuring:
– Dr. Andreas Woerlein, Lawyer, Melchers Law Firm
– Urim Bajrami, lawyer, Stadler Völkel law firm
– Dr. Lennart Brüggemann, Lawyer, HLB Schumacher Hallermann Law Firm
– Fabian Gramling, Member of the Bundestag, CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group (digital statement)
– Linda Heitmann, Member of the Bundestag, Bündnis 90/die Grünen (digital)
– Lena Werner, Member of the Bundestag, SPD Parliamentary Group (requested)
Break for coffee and communication
Online gambling and advertising, 15:00-16:00
As recently as April, the Federal Government Commissioner on Drugs and Addiction published a study commissioned by him, according to which more than half of Germans favour a ban on advertising of sports betting. This is a clear indication that advertising of gambling is a very sensitive issue and that there is a great need for a discussion involving all stakeholders. This is indeed a fascinating topic that needs to be de-emotionalised. After all, how are players supposed to find what they are looking for in the way of legal services on offer without advertising?
Featuring:
– Burkhard Blienert, Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues (requested)
– Dr. Wulf Hambach, lawyer, Hambach&Hambach law firm
– Timo Werner, GambleBase (requested)
– Dr. Tobias Hayer, Gambling Researcher, University of Bremen (digital)
– Mathias Dahms, President, German Sports Betting Association
– Dr. Simon Planzer, lawyer, Senior Fellow in Gaming Law, University St. Gallen
Evaluation of the Gaming Ordinance and the Interstate Treaty 16:00-17:00
An initial assessment and stock-taking of the Interstate Treaty 2021 is scheduled for the end of this year. We would like to venture a sneak preview a few months beforehand to see if some key issues that still need to be addressed in the Interstate Treaty can already be identified. The second assessment, which is being eagerly awaited focuses on the Gaming Ordinance, which will play a crucial future role when it comes to terrestrial services on offer in gaming halls and gastronomy.
Featuring:
– Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bühringer, addiction researcher, TU Dresden (digital)
– Prof. Dr. Tilman Becker, Stuttgart
– Dr. Tobias Hayer, Gambling Researcher, University of Bremen Institute for Public Health and Care Research (digital)
– Gitta Connemann, Member of the Bundestag, Chairwoman Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (requested)
– Christian Reidel, lawyer, former public prosecutor and judge
– Georg Stecker, Spokesman of the Board, Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft
– Representative of the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (requested)
